Angels News: MLB Expert Puts Shohei Ohtani Among Bottom Half of Starting RHP

Ohtani has fallen through the cracks in position rankings through two months of season

The Los Angeles Angels' first two months of the season have been eventful. The squad has had many ups and downs, filled with great wins, bad losses, and injuries. However, the one constant for the Halos has been their two-way superstar in Shohei Ohtani. 

Ohtani's 2023 season is nothing short of spectacular, and through the first month of the season, he was the runaway favorite for the AL Cy Young award. That has seemed to change from the month of May to now as he's fallen down the cracks of Bleacher Report's latest MLB positon-by-position ranking through the first two months by MLB expert Joel Reuter. 

Top 10 Right-Handed Starting Pitchers1. Sonny Gray, MIN (1)
2. Spencer Strider, ATL (6)
3. Joe Ryan, MIN (7)
4. Marcus Stroman, CHC (NR)
5. Nathan Eovaldi, TEX (NR)
6. Shohei Ohtani, LAA (5)
7. Luis Castillo, SEA (4)
8. Bryce Elder, ATL (10)
9. Logan Webb, SF (NR)
10. Cristian Javier, HOU (NR)

Ohtani lands in the sixth spot after posting a 4.06 ERA in 31 innings, allowing 15 runs, 14 of them earned, six home runs, and 23 hits in five starts. His entire numbers all across the board jumped all across the board compared to his April. 

Nonetheless, Ohtani is considered one of the best arms in the game and is currently third in the AL Cy Young odds with +600, according to TheLines.com. In front of him is Rays ace Shane McClanahan with +350 and Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole at +400. 

It looked bleak for Shohei in May, but expect a bounce-back month for Ohtani, although the dog days of summer are upon us.